Giers was born in
Bonn, and immigrated to the United States in 1845. He moved to Nashville in 1852, where he initially he worked as a conductor for the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad (he reportedly piloted the first passenger train in
Murfreesboro). Later that year, he exhibited his work at Nashville's Mechanics' Fair. In 1859, Giers overhauled his studio and renamed it the "Southern Photographic Temple of Fine Arts." Along with daguerreotypes, the new studio offered
ambrotypes and miniatures, and provided photographic enlargement services. , photographed by Giers c. 1860 During the
Civil War, Giers photographed both Confederate and Union soldiers. After the Union Army occupied Nashville in early 1862, Giers was given a pass to move about freely in the city, and to travel outside the city. By October 1863, he had moved to a new gallery on Union Street, selling his old gallery to Thomas Farquar Saltsman. In late 1865, Giers became a founding member of the German Union Committee, which cooperated with the American Central Union Committee to "secure the election of competent and uncompromising Union men to the offices of the State." During the decade following the end of the war, Giers was a persistent advocate for immigration, and frequently encouraged state officials to advertise the state in Europe. He was a member of the inaugural Board of Directors of the Tennessee Colonial and Immigration Society in 1866, and served as President of the German Immigration Society during the same period. In 1870, he helped convince thirty-eight German families to move to Tennessee. He was a frequent presence at Nashville German-American festivals and events during this period, and was "Worshipful Master" of the Masons' Germania Lodge. In June 1872, Giers presided over a Nashville German-American convention that endorsed Liberal Republican candidate
Horace Greeley for president. In September 1874, Nashville
Democrats nominated Giers for one of
Davidson County's four seats in the
Tennessee House of Representatives. Shortly afterward, the city's Republicans also endorsed Giers, and he was easily elected in November. Giers opposed repudiation of the state's out-of-control debt (the state debt was becoming one of the most contentious issues in Tennessee politics), and argued in favor of reorganizing the state bureaucracy to eliminate unnecessary offices. He continued to champion immigration, and called for the state to appoint a commissioner to advertise Tennessee in Europe. He also opposed the controversial convict lease system. He served only one term (39th General Assembly), and did not seek reelection. Giers died at his home on Granny White Pike on the outskirts of Nashville on May 24, 1877, "after a long and painful illness." Giers' adopted son, Otto Giers (1858–1940), took up photography in 1883, and continued the trade into the early 20th century. ==Works==